Blued and Finka were removed from Apple’s App Store.
LGBTQ+ rights and acceptance have taken another hit in China, with Apple removing two of the countries biggest LGBTQ+ dating apps. Wired reports that Blued and Finka are no longer available on the iOS App Store or certain Android App Stores following orders from the Cyberspace Administration of China, the country’s internet regulator and censor.
Apple told Wired that it must “follow the laws in the countries where we operate.” Both dating apps were available solely in China, where LGBTQ+ dating apps are minimal — Grindr, for instance, hasn’t been available on Apple since 2022. Blued exists internationally under the name HeeSay.
China has increasingly cracked down on LGBTQ+ individuals’ rights and groups in recent years, allegedly shuttering large organizations like the Beijing LGBT Center in 2023. For reasons unknown, Blued previously stopped new registrations this past July, with individuals buying second-hand accounts to use the app. However, it reopened in the middle of August.
It’s just normal people I know privately. I wouldn’t feel comfortable sharing their accounts
the normal people i know privately say the opposite and they’re heavily politically engaged; they would know more than your people from that alone.
You don’t know anything about the people I’ve met though, so that’s a weird assertion to make
it’s an assertion that makes sense given that you accepted this pinkwashing propaganda at face value and tried to defend it; anyone that you associate with will have a similar disposition since birds of a feather flock together.
You’re pretty keen on assumptions
it’s the only thing there is since you won’t won’t provide any evidence to back up your claim and you’re bought into pink washing propaganda from a source that has a history of peddling propaganda.
Saying the China’s discrimination of LGBTQ people is just pinkwashing is giving off sus vibes tbh. I’m gonna trust the people who actually live there and face that discrimination
i talk to chinese queers everyday via rednote and can attest that gay discrimination is definitely a thing in china; but it comes from its people and not the government.
this is pink washing because it meant to make americans believe that the government is doing the discriminating and there’s no clearer sign of this than a source that has been caught red handed peddling propaganda in the past as well as selective talking point that focuses grindr when other grindr-like platforms are used in china, but completely ignored by this piece of propaganda.
you would do well to develop some media literacy so that you won’t be brainwashed by future propaganda.
Unfortunately the Chinese government is active in discriminating against LGBTQ community and try to show pro-LGBTQ stuff in similar light to you, some foreign influence operation. It’s fucked.